Over the past 6 months or so, I’ve gotten into a pretty great rhythm when it comes to working out. With no races coming up, I thought I’d drop a line on how I’m working and what I think it’s doing for me. Hoping to follow up on this post with an update on my 900 minutes of meditation which I started in April and perhaps another post in general on morning routines.

Disclaimer – I’m not a fitness, nutrition or medical expert. No certifications or anything. I’m coming at this as a former competitive athlete, biology BS/MS and an experimenter with N=1. I am still figuring things out and sharing what I’m learning.

My workout goals

Everyone works out for different reasons – they might overlap but hold different priorities. Here are mine (in order of importance)

To keep my body healthy and functioning well

To maintain a high level of energy

To train for a marathon

To stay in shape and look trim/fit

My Constraints/Requirements

I think there are a bazillion number of ways to work out and stay fit. What matters is finding one that fits the constraints of your life. Getting into a routine of working out every morning is awesome, but it means having a few constraints including:

Easy on my knee – I don’t do plyometrics or any activities that involve a lot of pounding, side-to-side cutting, etc.

Morning availability – I like to workout in the morning, at my own pace, so that means most classes are a no go at the moment.

Affordable – Right now I am not willing to budget for classes, bootcamps, trainers, expensive equipment, etc. I work out at a nearby cheapo gym and my biggest expense are race entrance fees.

Sub-hour workouts – Since I am working out in the morning, shorter is better for me. My gym is 2 blocks from my apt and only one of my workouts lasts more than an hour door-to-door (the long run).

Workout 1: Heavy Weights

When I was a gymnast, we only did a tiny bit of lifting in the beginning of the pre-season. Otherwise, I generally stayed away. After reading about the work of Pavel Tastasouline (kettlebells) and Brian MacKenzie (CrossFit Endurance), both featured in Four Hour Body, plus reading about Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running and his gym workouts, I decided to make heavy lifts a cornerstone of my workouts.

What I’m learning is that heavier lift but lower reps is a really efficient way of building and maintaining strength without building mass. I want to short circuit the heavy mileage running programs that most marathon training guides advocate and I can only do that with a strong frame achieved through heavy, compound lifts.

In re-reading some of the literature like the “rule of 10”, I am considering raising the amount of weight lifted, reducing reps to 2-3 and increasing my rest time from ~2mins to ~5mins.

Workout 2: Tempo Run

This is the shorter run I do during the week, which should push me a bit aerobically and leave me breathing pretty hard at the end.

You can’t train for a marathon without doing some running. Long runs obviously help build tolerance for distance, but my tempo runs are for going a bit faster and keeping me from turning into a plodding, slow jogger.

Workout 3: Bodyweight

As a gymnast, I used to warmup and end my workouts with a ton of body weight exercises. At one point, I realized the 45 min routine we would do to warm up for gym practice was hard enough to be an entire workout for me now as a non-athlete. Kind of a sad feeling, but just the nature of my current lifestyle.

Typical workout:

10 mins on bike machine

2x 50 pushups

2x 15 pullups

50 hollow rocks + 50 arch rocks

1 min handstand hold + 5 handstand pushups

1 min plank hold + 1 min side plank hold (each side)

Why I do it

Bodyweight exercises is like a medium-light workout that doesn’t tax my legs too much, works my core and upper body, keeps me active and my blood moving during the week.

Workout 4: Interval Training

High intensity interval training is where you switch between doing really hard activity followed by really easy activity on repeat for some number of cycles. Studies have shown that vigorous exercise burns more calories than “steady state exercise”, increases your post workout metabolism for longer and can even increase your endurance/aerobic capacity in less time than longer, easier workout. Check out more on intervals via this infographic by Greatist.

Typical workout

Elliptical: 6x 1 min easy on Level 10, 1 min really hard on Level 14

Why I do it

I do intervals partly as a way to build speed without doing track work or hill sprints. It’s a lot more convenient and it’s nice that it only takes 12 minutes to do the whole workout. I do wondering if I’m getting the same benefits because I am worried about running being too different from “elliptical-ing” and thus not getting that speed boost. But my aerobic capacity should be benefitting. I think I’m going to start doing more cycles (maybe 8?) while taking the easy portion even easier and seeing what happens.

Workout 5: Light/Rehab

This is a mixed bag. I want to be in the gym but not kill myself before a long run.

Typical workout:

20 mins on bike machine easy

Rotator cuff exercises with 5lbs dumbells

Single-leg balance Romanian Dead Lifts (no weight)

100 ups (which after watching the video, I realize I’ve been doing wrong)

Why I do it

Most people don’t do enough preventative rehab. I don’t use my upper body as much as I used to but it’s really good to work out some of those smaller muscles in your shoulder and back. Same for the lower body – just doing some drills, some stretch and staying loose.

Workout 6: Long Run

I love this workout. It’s my big test every week – my test of progress. I am constantly trying to extend my long run until I’m easily running some faster paced half marathons and can handle a 15 or 18 miler without issue.

I’m training for a marathon in late July and this is the best way I know how to track my progress. I want to be comfortably running longer distances without blisters or major soreness before I go all out on that 26.2 miler.

I really enjoy my long runs because – 1) I’m usually extra well rested from the day before 2) I blast electronic dance music and get my jam on 3) my runs are along the waterfront of San Francisco and 4) my long runs are usually are also on my cheat day (more on that in another post) so I eat very well afterward

I may write an entire post devoted to the long run later on, but we’ll stop here for now =)

Final Thoughts

When reviewing my workout program, it’s like someone made a smoothie out of running, powerlifting and gymnastics. I realize I may not be realizing the full gains of doing heavy lifting or interval training by only doing it once a week. Perhaps my need for variety is preventing me from getting stronger/faster as efficiently as possible. Writing this blog post has been great because I already have some ideas for changing up my routine.

I will say though that I’ve been doing this routine for a few months and it’s been great. I feel good everyday, never too exhausted during the weekdays and full of energy – and I haven’t suffered any major injuries or illnesses (minus the foot issues and cold symptoms before the half marathon) so it’s achieving my goals.

What’s your workout routine like? How do you structure your exercise? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

I’m always evolving and experimenting with my writing style here. On this post, I tried to write in the style of a magazine article, like something out of the Atlantic or Esquire. Not too pretentious, but a bit more literary than my standard ass-kicking fare. Let me know what you think in the comments!

I’m standing in a crowd of people covered in spandex and neoprene.

As a former gymnast, this is nothing new. Seeing muscled adult males squeezed in tight, form-fitting material was once a commonplace occurrence for me. What is novel, however, is that instead of being in a heated, insulated gymnasium, I’m standing in front of a dock, overlooking a small harbor on a chilly morning in early spring.

I’m here to compete in my first sprint triathlon.

For a long time, my only knowledge of triathlons was the Ironman ― the grueling 140.6 mile race that is one of the greatest endurance challenges in the world. It’s a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a marathon (26.2 miles). As the story goes, the competition combined several long standing distance races to settle a debate between several military officers about which sport ― cycling, swimming or running ― was the “greatest”. The first Ironman Triathlon was held in Hawaii in 1978 and has since grown considerably in both participation and renown.

I found out about more manageable triathlons for mere mortals after following a blogger named Joel Runyon, who writes about triathlons [1], adventure travel and doing impossible things. More personally, I’ve been in touch with a college friend – a former swimmer who, in a renewed focus on exercise and weight loss, found a passion for running and decided to compete in a sprint triathlon.

The buzzer goes off and away we go, paddling through the water. I am surprised and pleased by the ability of my rented wet suit to keep the chilly 55 degree harbor water at a distance. The wet suit does not, however, do anything to prevent the salty sea water from entering my mouth every time I take a breath. Even after a month of swim practice at the YMCA, I find myself struggling to keep a good stroke rhythm going.

Halfway through swim I begin to feel my arms lock up as the coldness starts to affect their ability to move. I try to push onward, hoping that I won’t have to cry out for one of the lifeguards mounted on kayaks to save me from drowning pathetically 20 feet from dry land.

“What was I thinking”, I ask myself “when I decided to sign up for this?”

Triathlons come in four flavors: Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman and Ironman, each featuring longer and longer distances. For beginners, a “sprint tri” is relatively doable – with swim distances of 400-800 meters, bike rides of 10-12 miles and run distances of 3 miles or perhaps a 5k. While I personally find the term “Sprint” a bit puzzling as the descriptor for this distance, I can definitely see how it is a faster paced race than any of the longer distances.

How I found myself participating in a sprint tri has been a bit of a surprise and mystery to my friends and family. How does a gymnast of 16 years, used to meets where total time on equipment over six events adds up to less than 10 min of actual exercise decide he wants to race in hour-plus long triathlons?

It all started with a life-long shame in my ability to run.

Running has always been one of my weaknesses. I distinctly remember struggling to run a mile in gym class in middle school one year (the 27 laps around our gym’s hardwood floor feeling like an eternity) and my father chiding me for “losing to girls” with an 11 minute something mile. I was able to write it during my years as a competitive a gymnast, since one’s ability to run a mile has little to do with one’s ability to do a two and a half twisting somersault.

About a decade after that middle school mile, I was lost in the psychological wasteland of a former collegiate athlete. Going to the gym and working out felt empty and pointless. It was then that I tried running again. The first “real” mile I ran after college took 11 minutes and 47 seconds, which translates to 5 MPH, a speed reserved for driving in parking lots.

I am finally catching my breath.

I made it out of the water unassisted (2nd to last of the men in my batch) and am now riding the commuter/road bike hybrid I was borrowing from my roommate along the first of three flat lollipop loops that was the bike course. It’s a joy to inhale fresh air without a mixture of salt and the constriction of a suit.

I have, however, entered a new realm of hazards because while the swim portion was relatively contained with just a dozen or so men in my age group in the water, the bike route has men and women of all categories, including the highly competitive collegiate athletes. Sweaty bikers whizz by in gleaming blurs of carbon fiber and aero bars with a distinct zoom that sound more automotive in nature than pedal-powered.

I actually have to pull over to the curb as one fierce biker shouts for me to get out of her away. Did she say “on your left” or “move to the left”? I’ll never know.

A post-race shot of me and my borrowed commuter/road bike hybrid

Undeterred by my slow first run, and fueled by the keen desire to challenge and redeem myself, I began to put more miles on the road. My passion came not just from a need to conquer this weakness of my athletic ability, but of my skelo-muscular abilities as well.

I dislocated my left knee in my junior year of college in a disastrous vaulting accident and have undergone over five reconstructive surgeries to rebuild or trim my ACL, PCL and surrounding ligaments and tissues. Yet somehow running, especially in minimal footwear with a forefoot strike, has not given my knee issues and even my surgeon ― after examining my knee in an annual checkup ― grudgingly allowed me to continue running.

I was determined to turn running into a strength. And in the proceeding months, I did just that ― increasing my speed and distances from 5ks to 10ks to half marathons.

But after training for and competing in my first half marathon, I found myself suffering overuse issues in my feet that were frustrating and kept me off the road. And so looking around Active.com ― a website that lists sporting events and various types of races in one’s local area ― I found a sprint triathlon nearby held by my own alma mater.

After getting passed endlessly for miles, I finally settle into a good pace and even catch myself passing a few people. I rip into an energy gel and drink a few gulps of water while trading “leads” with a boy who couldn’t have been older than 15. He’s even gracious enough to give me a “Good Job!” when I passed him. What a sport.

I try to kick it up a notch and attempt to chase down a girl in a white tank top. While I do pass her once, she catches back up and leaves me in the dust. Pulling in after my third loop I’m a little winded and my quads a bit sore, but otherwise feeling pretty good. I’m excited for “my” part of the tri ― the run.

The bike route gives a great view onto the sidewalk where I see triathletes stumbling away with terrible form, more shuffle than stride. I am excited to knock this leg out of the park.

It turned out training for a triathlon wasn’t very easy. The running was straightforward, but I don’t own a nice road bike, nor did my normal gym have pool access. I found a nearby YMCA and squeezed into lanes alongside senior and adult swimmers just looking to get in their morning dip. I suspect the lifeguards had a good laugh as I splashed away like a maniac, panting and half drowning as I put in my laps.

After swimming I’d get one of the spinning bikes and go for 20 or 30 minutes. Of course while those bikes are better at mimicking a real road bike, they don’t give you any digital feedback on distance or difficulty so I wasn’t sure how close this was to race conditions or even how hard I could push myself on the bike. My one cycling foray on actual road was a 12 mile round-trip ride across San Francisco out to the ocean that, with hills and traffic lights, took nearly 45 minutes each way.

I realized I did not really know how the race would go or how much it would tax me.

I struggle a bit to put on my Vibrams Five Fingers (my minimal running shoes that resemble “foot gloves”), my toes uncooperative and unwilling to slide into their proper spots. Eventually they’re wrestle them into position and I’m off.

Really off.

Everything feels wrong. My legs feel like they’re made out of lead. Shock from each footstrike resonate directly into my chest cavity and my heart feels like the clapper inside a church bell. Suddenly I realize why so many of those runners looked awful ― because they felt awful. I urge myself onward, slowing down my pace a little while I try to get my legs under me.

They come back about a mile in. Finally, I feel like I’m in my element. Foot in front of foot ― I’m moving. It’s pure sport, uncluttered by the brand of my suit, or the material of my frame. I hold an 8 minute a mile pace until I can almost see the finish line, then throw in my final kick, flying through the blue rubber mats that cover the timing machinery.

My total time clocks in a 1:29:40, putting me 2nd to last in the 25-29 year old male age group, and 154 overall, in perhaps 200 something competitors. My splits are 16:08 mins on swim, 43:20 on the bike and 23:28 mins on the run with 3+ minute transition times.

The final sprint home!

Overall, I am happy with the outcome of my first sprint tri. In retrospect, I think I could have pushed myself a little harder on both the bike and run, though I definitely maxed out my swim. Some smarter racing tactics could have further shaved a few minutes off my time ― for instance my transitions could have been much faster.

There was definitely something exhilarating about running into the transition area, shucking a wetsuit or helmet and switching into new equipment. It felt like a being a Transformer (the phrase “activate running mode” seems like a catch phrase that could go on an ironic triathlete t-shirt).

I can also see the advantages of racing tri’s ― more variety in training and more room for optimization in a variety of area. Beyond just swimming, cycling and running more, improvements can come from learning a skill or technique (for instance, I could really benefit from swimming lessons) and simply buying just better gear. It almost reminds me of those casual Facebook-connected games where you can either earn your currency from in-game activities, or shortcut to them by converting your real money.

I personally don’t find all these areas of optimization very appealing. One of the few ways that gymnastics is similar to running is that the equipment is relatively standardized. While your home gym may differ from other gyms, at the competition, you are all wearing the same kind of spandex, the same wrist supports, hand grips and other attire and none of it guarantees a significant improvement in performance.

Similarly, in a running race, all that really matters is that you’ve got a decent pair of running shoes. Races feel more level and running feels more primal. Distance running feels like the ultimate competition, especially if you believe the claims by Christopher McDougall in his best-selling book Born to Run [2].

I’ll probably race another tri someday. Maybe I’ll even do the Treeathlon again, next year. I’m proud to have completed my first race and have a new level of respect for those Ironmen. But for now I think I’m going to stick with running. I’ve got a full marathon coming up in July and perhaps some fun races in between.

For once, I’m shying away from the shiny new thing, and pushing farther down simple, (but not easy!) road. I’d like to believe I’m doing things the way a real runner would.

FOOTNOTES

[1] In fact, he actually recently wrote an entire guide on sprint triathlons that you can check out here.
[2] In the book, McDougall argues that the ability to run long distances is one of the distinguishing features of modern human beings and may have lead to hunting advantages over Neanderthals.

I finished my second 5k race a few weeks ago at Steven’s Creek Trail. I ran with my roommate Michael (who’s doing his own startup OYO Glasses) and completed it in 25:58, finishing 72nd out of 232 people (7th out of the 16 guys in my age group). It was slower than my first 5k by about 90 seconds which is kind of a bummer, but my training was also a bit off (you’ll see why in a minute). Also, this time I had shorts on. =)

I don’t want to turn this blog into a training / race log so I’ll focus on some useful things I’ve learned before and after the race.

Avoiding Feet / Ankle Pain

I'm screaming not from ankle pain here but just from general exhaustion in my all-out sprint to the finish.

I ran my first 5k in Vibrams and it was great. But after running in Vibrams all the time on pavement, I found my feet and ankles really starting to bother me. I took some time off to see if I just needed some rest but even after not running for most of August, it still hurt when I started running. I knew I wasn’t running hard to enough to have that serious of an injury, so I needed to try new tactics: Continue reading…

Sometimes it takes very specific moments for people to realize their intense desire to change (I wrote about these ‘focal moments’ in another post). A friend that I have a strong affinity to (we think alike in many ways and treat our work and life with huge amounts of enthusiasm and a touch of masochism) sent me an email about three epiphanies he had over a recent evening. He clearly had a focal moment and I wanted to share a sanitized version of this email for you guys.

How dissatisfied are you really with your appearance? Or your career? Or your chances at starting a startup? These are the words of a man who has drawn the line and is going to do whatever it takes to make shit happen.

I was dancing shirtless to crazy techno at a party with some friends amid a huge crowd of half naked energetic people. Strobe Lights, Fake Smoke, Stage Dancers, Energy.

Looking around the crowd I noticed more beautiful girls than I’m accustomed to seeing in SF. Dancing shirtless (with arms flexed and stomach pulled in) right next to an attractive girl I was also aware of lots of guys with smaller stomachs and bigger arms. I could probably beat most of the guys there in a fist fight but from just looking at me I didn’t seem particularly special and potentially even below average. There and then I decided that I had enough. I was never going to be in that situation again. Starting that day I would start a consistent training program focused specifically on biceps mass gain, abs, and reducing fat.

I’m terrible at closing physical distance. It’s not that I’m never able to do it but it’s something that I’m so aware of and so bad at that it needs to be fixed ASAP. I would call it my #1 problem. My friend started grinding against her later in the night and it wasn’t a big deal while I danced close to her but not touching – I was afraid to do it and didn’t know how.

So both an amazing night but also a call for action. I’ve been thinking about many of these things for a long time but now I’m going to be laser focused on them. Athletics, Appearance, and Social Skills are only one side of the coin but I need to stop making excuses and work on them.

That night I went to sleep at 5 and that morning I got up at 8am to go to Muay Thai. Then I lifted weights. Then I climbed. Then Monday I went to Crossfit. I was scared of it like I always am for some reason but I went and I did it. Then Tuesday I sparred even though it scared me even more. And I’d love to say I kicked ass or really overcame most of my fear but I didn’t. But I did persist and I’m going to keep persisting and pushing. I don’t know if I really want these things as bad as the quote is describing – I don’t think I’m there yet. But I want to get there.

Things have been super busy lately, but I promise a more regular blogging schedule is coming soon. In the meantime I thought I’d highlight some things I’ve been up to across the web that you might not have checked out:

But if working out is so great, why aren’t we all doing it? Well, no time, too busy, not enough energy, don’t know where to start, putting it off for later, will start tomorrow, etc… We know it’s hard to fit working out into a crazy busy life. But it is possible. And worthwhile. Living a healthier lifestyle is one that’s built step by step, one smart choice at a time. But if you’re ready to start down that path of a more energized, focused, and productive life – here are our best strategies on how to get started: (Click to read more)

This is a post I wrote for Kat Richter during our recent blog swap. Her blog is all about dating (most off people she’s met online) so I wrote about something I don’t cover much here: dating. Here’s the intro:

Hey guys – I’m Jason! I’m a twenty-something guy who grew up on near Boston, went to school in California (Stanford) and now live in San Francisco.

One topic that doesn’t get much coverage is my dating life (surprise, surprise). Which makes it great that I’ve been partnered here with Kat for this blog swap.

I’m a big fan of online dating (as the co-founder of an Internet startup, I find that it’s the only thing that gets me out of the house and meeting people) and I know Kat has some experience with it too.

There’s definitely some big differences (in my mind) about about online dating from the male vs female perspective– and perhaps from the East Coast and the West Coast. So without further ado, here are six thoughts from me on online dating– Some of these are lessons, some are questions some are just observations. Enjoy! (Click to read more)

Rejection Therapy Podcast continues

Though I haven’t been talking about it lately, I’ve continued to host podcasts with Jason Comely around the topics of Rejection Therapy. In two recent podcasts, we discussed Rejection Therapy being optioned for a reality TV series, as well as the lessons of humility and persistence learned from doing Rejection Therapy. Check ’em out:

About

Jason Shen

Jason is a PM at Etsy and a partner at Ship Your Side Project. He cofounded a Y Combinator startup called Ridejoy and served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow under President Obama. He holds two degrees from Stanford and set a Guinness World Record in Aztec Push-Ups. Learn more.

Get on the Inside

Never miss a post by subscribing to The Art of Ass-Kicking. Join 2500+ readers who like smart, interesting, and actionable writings on business, technology, and behavior change. I also write Insider's Notes that are exclusively shared with these readers.

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam.

Search

Loading

Disclaimers

Reading this blog is not entirely safe. At any time, you might encounter one or more of the following: